Kenya surpassed the 20,000 threshold of confirmed Covid-19 cases after reporting 723 new cases on Friday, according to the Ministry of Health.
The total number of confirmed cases is now at least 20,636 confirmed cases and at least 341 people have died from the virus.
The milestone comes on the eve of the reopening of international travel to and from the country. Kenya will begin welcoming international travelers on August 1 after months of grounded flights.
Travelers will be required to provide a Covid-19 negative certificate up to 96 hours before travel and be subject to a 14-day quarantine, according to the Kenyan Ministry of Transport.
Passengers from 19 countries that are considered by the Kenyan government to be low to medium risk for Covid-19 transmission will be exempt from the mandatory quarantine, provided that a passenger’s temperature is below 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit and they do not have a persistent cough or other flu-like symptoms, according to a statement from Ministry of Transport on Friday.
“Those required to quarantine will do so at the Government designated facility out at their home subject to prevailing guidelines,” the statement said.
The countries exempt from mandatory quarantine are: Canada, China, South Korea, Namibia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Morocco, Japan, Zimbabwe, Switzerland, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Qatar, UAE, Italy, and the United States (except for California, Texas, and Florida).
The list of countries exempt from mandatory quarantine will be reviewed on a daily basis, according to the Ministry of Transport.
“The risk profile of any country could change and therefore the status with regard to these clarifications and directives could also change,” the statement said.
